1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same, and specifically to a semiconductor device in which a plurality of element forming areas and dicing areas are formed on a semiconductor substrate, and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Background
A related art (for example, JP-A-2009-272492) discloses a semiconductor device, which has superior high-frequency characteristics and small leakage current, made of a silicon (Si) substrate and a compound semiconductor layer and method of manufacturing the same. The compound semiconductor layer in a related semiconductor element is made of gallium nitride (GaN), aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN), etc. In the related art, in case where the semiconductor wafer is divided along a dicing line, two trenches are first formed so that the compound semiconductor may be divided into a plurality of element forming areas. Next, the compound semiconductor layer and a substrate are diced along a dicing area, which is provided between two trenches. As a result, a semiconductor wafer is divided into separate semiconductor devices.
According to a related art, the compound semiconductor element is prevented from being damaged or cracked during the dicing process, thereby preventing decrease in yield of a semiconductor device.